public service commission
A commission created by a legislature to regulate public utilities or public-service corporations. [Cases: Public Utilities 141. C.J.S. Public Utilities §§ 60–61.]
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Search Results for: LEGISLATURE
house of representatives
House of Representatives. 1. The lower chamber of the U.S. Congress, composed of 435 members — apportioned among the states on the basis of population — who are elected to two-year terms. [Cases: United States 7. 1. C.J.S. United States § 16.] 2. The lower house of a state legislature. — Abbr. (in senses 1
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de contumace capiendo
de contumace capiendo (dee kon-ty[schwa]-may-see kap-ee-en-doh), n. [Law Latin “for arresting a contumacious person”] Hist. A writ issuing out of the Court of Chancery at the request of an ecclesiastical court that has found a person to be in contempt. • This writ came into use after the Ecclesiastical Courts Act of 1813 removed ecclesiastical
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baumes law
Baumes Law. A statute that provides for stricter criminal prosecution and penalties up to life imprisonment for an offender who has four convictions for felonies or certain misdemeanors. • The first Baumes Law, named for New York state Senator Caleb H. Baumes, was passed by the New York legislature in 1926. Cf. THREE-STRIKES LAW.
pair
pair. Parliamentary law. Two voters, usu. legislators, on opposite sides of an issue who agree that they will abstain if either cannot vote on the issue. • A pair is usu. announced and recorded. “In a legislative body it is a rule that no member can vote who is not present when the question is
speaker
speaker. 1. One who speaks or makes a speech (the slander claim was viable only against the speaker). 2. The presiding officer of a large deliberative assembly, esp. a legislature’s more numerous house, such as the House of Representatives (Speaker of the House). See CHAIR(1). [Cases: United States 7. 1. C.J.S. United States § 16.]
expunge
expunge (ek-sp[schwa]nj), vb. 1. To erase or destroy (the trustee wrongfully expunged the creditor’s claim against the debtor). 2. Parliamentary law. To declare (a vote or other action) null and outside the record, so that it is noted in the original record as expunged, and redacted from all future copies. — Also termed rescind and
fence
fence, n. 1. A person who receives stolen goods. — Also termed (historically) intaker. [Cases: Receiving Stolen Goods 4. C.J.S. Receiving or Transferring Stolen Goods and Related Offenses §§ 4, 6–7, 12.] “The receivers of stolen goods almost never ‘know’ that they have been stolen, in the sense that they could testify to it in
impeachment
impeachment. 1. The act (by a legislature) of calling for the removal from office of a public official, accomplished by presenting a written charge of the official’s alleged misconduct; esp., the initiation of a proceeding in the U.S. House of Representatives against a federal official, such as the President or a judge. • Congress’s authority
legislative investigation
legislative investigation. A formal inquiry conducted by a legislative body incident to its legislative authority. • A legislature has many of the same powers as a court to support a legislative inquiry, including the power to subpoena and cross-examine a witness and to hold a witness in contempt. [Cases: United States 23. C.J.S. United States
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